He was born in Syracuse, New York in the United States, but is also a Canadian citizen and has played for the Canadian national team. He is the son of Leo Rautins, who also played for Syracuse and professionally, and is the former coach of the Canadian national team.

Rautins played on the 2004 Jamesville-Dewitt High School Class A state championship squad that went undefeated (29–0) after defeating St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, 77–73 (OT) in the championship game. Rautins led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds. He was named first-team all-state and first-team All-CNY.[1]

Rautins made his international debut in the Jack Donohue International Classic averaging 18.3 minutes and 8.8 points. He started the Gold Medal game against Australia and scored a Canadian team tournament high 20 points including draining five three-pointers in the first half of the game.

Rautins also played in the FIBA World U21 Championship in Argentina. He averaged 9.4 points in five games. In the bronze medal game, Rautins scored 11 points.[2]

Rautins played for the Canadian Senior Men’s National Team. The squad played a 10-game exhibition schedule in Europe during July and August.[1] In a game vs. Venezuela at the International Alpos Cup, Rautins scored seven points and recorded three steals in 19 minutes. He also played in one game against Germany recording three points in eight minutes. Rautins played in all three games of the Diego Gianatti Tournament averaging 10.3 minutes and 2.3 points, including five points against Greece.[2]

Rautins participated in the 2007 Pan-American Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, averaging a squad-best 14.4 points and 2.4 assists. He scored 16 points in a preliminary loss to Brazil.[3] During the same summer, he also played for Team Canada in the Tournament of Americas held in Las Vegas and tore his ACL during Canada's loss to Brazil.[4]

Rautins was the second youngest player to be selected to the Senior Men's National Team, and appeared in all three of the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualfiers.[5] He logged 13 minutes and three points in an 86–70 loss to Slovenia on July 15,[6] six minutes in a 79–77 win over Korea on July 16,[7] and eight minutes and four points in an 83–62 loss to Croatia on July 18.[8] As a result of their 1–2 record, Canada did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Rautins also played significant time in Team Canada's exhibition game against Team USA, the eventual gold-medal winner at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Rautins spent all of his time exclusively at point guard during that game, logging 16 minutes.[9]

Rautins was Team Canada's second leading scorer as the Canadians earned a fourth-place finish at the FIBA Americas Tournament in Puerto Rico. Rautins averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 assists for the tournament, including a 23 point performance as Team Canada blew out Panama 97–65 in the quarterfinal on September 23.[10] The team's finish was good enough to secure a spot in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.[11]

Rautins was used sparingly his freshman year, appearing in just 20 games. He averaged 2.9 points and 0.9 rebounds, but did set a then-career high of 10 points against South Florida on January 8, 2006, connecting on 3-of-5 3-point attempts.[citation needed]

As a sophomore, Rautins appeared in all 35 of Syracuse's games, including his first career start against Baylor on December 16, 2006. Rautins remained a fixture in the Syracuse starting lineup, and set a career high with 19 points against Providence on February 24, 2007. He finished the season averaging 7.2 points. Rautins established himself as one of the team's best perimeter shooters, converting 36 percent of his 3-point shots.[1]

Rautins would return for his redshirt junior year after reconstructive surgery on his knee. His return paid immediate dividends for the Orange, as Rautins tied a school record with nine 3-pointers (Gerry McNamara had nine against BYU in the NCAA tournament in 2004) highlighting a career-high 29 points in an 82–71 victory over Coppin State on December 22, 2008.[14]

Rautins would continue his tear against Seton Hall (26 points on 7–10 shooting from three point land), South Florida (14, 4–8) and DePaul (17, 5–10). In those four games, Rautins would hit a combined 25 3-pointers at a 57 percent clip.[15] Other highlights included Rautins 20 points, and six 3-pointers in the epic six overtime game against Connecticut in the Big East tournament. Rautins made a crucial 3-pointer in the final seconds of the third overtime, forcing a fourth. Rautins also made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the sixth overtime, giving Syracuse their first lead since the end of regulation to help lead to the historic win.[16]

Rautins would become the full-time starter at shooting guard in his senior season. On November 20, 2009, Rautins would lead Syracuse to an 87–71 upset of then-No. 4 North Carolina with 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.[17] On December 10, 2009, Rautins played 39 minutes and scored 16 points and handed out five assists as Syracuse knocked off then-No. 10 Florida 85–73.[18] On January 13, 2010 against Rutgers, Rautins scored 23 points and added 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals in an 81–65 win.[19]

Rautins finished the season averaging 12.1 points, 4.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game (leading the Big East), and was named to the All Big East Second Team and was also named an AP All American Honorable Mention.[20]